ePub Final Theory: A Novel download

by Mark Alpert

Author:

Mark Alpert

ISBN13:

978-1451612424

ISBN:

1451612427

Language:

English

Publisher:

Pocket Star; Reprint edition (January 25, 2011)

Category:

Suspense

Subcategory:

Thrillers & Suspense

ePub file:

1184 kb

Fb2 file:

1201 kb

Other formats:

docx lrf azw mobi

Rating:

4.2

Votes:

462

Mark Alpert Thrillers and Suspense English

Download ePub Download Fb2

More..

The novel fictitiously posits that Albert Einstein actually achieved his life's ambition of discovering a unified field theory. If he had been successful in developing this theory, it would have large consequences for the world, including the development of a weapon of mass destruction. Final Theory is Alpert's debut novel.

A self-described lifelong "science geek," Mark Alpert majored in astrophysics at Princeton University, writing his undergraduate thesis on an application of Einstein's theory of relativity

A self-described lifelong "science geek," Mark Alpert majored in astrophysics at Princeton University, writing his undergraduate thesis on an application of Einstein's theory of relativity.

David Swift, a professor at Columbia University, is on the run for his life from the FBI and a ruthless mercenary as he frantically tries to work out an unpublished Einstein theory.

I ask only once a year: please help the Internet Archive today.

Final theory: a novel, Mark Alpert. p. cm. A Touchstone Book. 1. Physics teachers-Fiction. 2. Unified field theories-Fiction. 3. Einstein, Albert, 1879–on. A negative pressure, pushing inward from all sides, constricting his lungs. Within seconds it rose to his neck, a hot choking tightness, and Hans opened his mouth, gagging. Lukewarm water rushed down his throat, and now Hans devolved into a creature of pure panic, a twisting, squirming primitive animal going into its final convulsions. No, no, no, no, no, no! Then he lay still, and as his vision faded he saw only the wavelets at the surface, rippling just a few centimeters above him.

Einstein's proposed Unified Theory a set of equations that could explain all the forces of nature would have revolutionized our understanding of the universe. But Einstein never discovered it. Or did he? Within hours, David is arrested by the FBI and taken to a secret interrogation center

Einstein's proposed Unified Theory a set of equations that could explain all the forces of nature would have revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Or did he? Within hours, David is arrested by the FBI and taken to a secret interrogation center. But the FBI isn't the only faction pursuing Einstein's long-hidden theory. A Russian mercenary wants to force David to talk and he will do whatever it takes.

Debut novelist Mark Alpert brings one of the most explosive books of 2008, seamlessly weaving current issues of science, history, and politics with white-knuckle chases

Debut novelist Mark Alpert brings one of the most explosive books of 2008, seamlessly weaving current issues of science, history, and politics with white-knuckle chases. David Swift, a professor at Columbia University, is called to the hospital to comfort his mentor, a physicist who's been brutally tortured. The Theory of Everything. The Destroyer of Worlds. Could this be Einstein's proposed Unified Theory-a set of equations that combines the physics of galaxies with the laws of atoms? Einstein never succeeded in discovering it. Or did he? Within hours of hearing his mentor's last words, David is running for his life.

Final Theory: A Novel. A science professor on the run must find a lost Einstein theory-and keep it from those who might use it to destroy the universe.

Debut novelist Mark Alpert brings one of the most explosive books of 2008, seamlessly weaving current issues of science, history, and politics with white-knuckle chases.

A Spellbinding Thriller about a Science History Professor on the Run. Debut novelist Mark Alpert brings one of the most explosive books of 2008, seamlessly weaving current issues of science, history, and politics with white-knuckle chases. David Swift, a professor at Columbia University, is A Spellbinding Thriller about a Science History Professor on the Run for his Life and an Unpublished Einstein Theory that Could Change the World.

Final Theory (A Novel). Final Theory (A Novel). Download (epub, 426 Kb).

IN A BLAZING FICTION DEBUT, MARK ALPERT TAKES PHYSICS OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE HIGH-STAKES REALM OF ACTION, DANGER, AND A PLOT THAT COULD DOOM THE WORLD. . . .

An elderly physicist, one of Einsteins last living colleagues, is brutally tortured, then left to die, when he refuses to reveal what he knows about a long-hidden secretthe solution to Einsteins proposed Unified Field Theory.

As his life ebbs, he whispers a mysterious string of numbers to Columbia professor David Swift. Torn between excitement and disbelief that such a momentous discovery could have remained a secret for all these years, David has no time for thought. Already, both a lethal Russian assassin and the FBI are hot on his trail. His one hope is to team up with his former girlfriend Monique Reynolds, a brilliant Princeton scientist, in a desperate race to uncover the shocking truth before they are both silenced . . . forever.

VAZGINO

This book was great fun to read. You may wonder why there are some reviews that are so harsh and vehement negative. I think politics be the clue.

The writer seems (well, to me) to be referring to George when he writes: "The president was a boob, a brainless figurehead who had a talent for winning elections but little else." There are enough references to the VP and Secretary of Defense to create a sense if currency in his descriptions of the immoral executive branch of the government. The Secretary of Defense describes the protaganists as "professors, probably ultraliberal Looney Tunes" reflecting some of the attitudes of the current administration.

I'll bet political disagreements with the author are the real sources of the vehemence of the negative reviews. The percentages seem about right. :)

Trash Obsession

To be honest, I didn't read the whole book. I only made it about a quarter of the way through (to the part where David and Monique set out for Pittsburg) before I was overwhelmed by the sheer buffoonery of it.

Bear in mind that I am a big fan of F. Paul Wilson, Preston & Child, and James Rollins, so it's not like I'm unable to suspend disbelief. But the author has to exercise a bit of craft to make the unbelievable at least seem believable while you're reading. Alpert has no such craft.

The protagonists are cardboard cutouts, and the villains (just about everybody else) are cartoons. Early on, an FBI agent is described as "an Oklahoma farm boy who'd picked up his conversational skills in the Marine Corps." A later description: "...Simon recognized the men from their gait: ex-Marines and ex-Rangers assigned to headquarters duty, most likely with the FBI." Would it have over-taxed Mr. Alpert to at least go to the FBI website and take a look at the qualifications required to become an FBI agent? (And if you think the FBI agents look foolish, just wait and see how the Secretary of Defence is depicted!)

The ridiculous elements that ruin many thrillers are all here, writ large. The lone killer, who can casually saunter into the FBI's secure compound, disable their communications and kill all the agents, the protagonists who can out-maneuver professionals and the entirety of America's law enforcement and solve cryptic puzzles by improbable feats of logic. Early in the book, the hero manages to escape from FBI custody (and the killer) because the FBI agents conveniently left him alone in the interrogation room, uncuffed, with a Super Soaker water rifle, a flask of alcohol, and a cigarette lighter. No, I'm not kidding, and it wasn't even at this point that I gave up; it had to get a lot dumber.

The novel is also tainted by the unmistakable whiff of contempt this author seems to hold for anybody not of his peer group. This includes the police, military, and ordinary citizens (all of whom seem to have enormous beer bellies).

The only redeeming factor in this mess is that the author knows his physics and can explain it well. But if you're interested in this, you'd be better off picking up a copy of Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe."

Don't waste your money on this drivel.

Ydely

The idea of a hidden Einstein Theory of Everything is a wonderful premise. And there are definitely things to like about this book. The writing is more than adequate from a style perspective; not great, but very good. Alpert does a little too much spoon feeding (telling the reader things that are blatantly obvious, as if the reader isn't smart enough to figure it out), but not enough to make the writing itself unpleasant. He also did an admirable job of working in twists that are so important to a story like this. The pacing was good, and the science was very nicely incorporated with a minimum of info-dumping. Then there are the problems...

It frustrates me to no end when an author won't do even the tiniest bit of research in order to get the details right on issues they know nothing about. For example, a character engages the safety on their revolver. Puh-leeze. Revolvers don't have safeties. (The only revolver that has a safety is an old western style single-action, definitely not the thing you tuck into the small of your back as did the character.) Things go from bad to worse when he approaches the issue of computers. A character "smashes" a computer on the floor and, voila, we have parts everywhere. Among these parts, he is able to spot the hard drive because it looks like a turntable with glass platters. He of course proceeds to smash the platters into tiny shards. Good grief. It takes five seconds on Google to see what a hard drive looks like. Or hey, walk into any computer store and ask them to let you hold one. Then get back to me on whether you saw platters and were able to "smash" them. Every time an author does something like this, it yanks you out of the story and it takes time to reestablish the immersion. I find this way too often with authors who obviously have zero understanding of things of the real world, whether the topic is cars, guns, computers, etc. It's frustrating, and so easily avoidable.

The more troubling issue with the book is the ultra-poor character development, both on the micro and macro levels. On the micro level, there's just little there to make one bond with the individual characters. They're stereotypical and wooden. On the macro level, the evil government is after the poor innocent little people while an evil Master Killer stalks them, as well. Yawn.

Finally, although it contributed absolutely nothing to the story, the author had to take time to inject his liberal politics. The evil vice-president with a crooked smile has to run the country for the "boob" from Texas. Again, yawn. Maybe the author found this cathartic, but it's an incredibly stupid thing to do in a book that has nothing to do with politics. By including elements like this, he added nothing to the story, but did manage to insult any conservative who happened to have bought and read his book. Nothing quite so smart as alienating half your potential market for no reason other than your own need to "vent."

All in all, it was a first book that had vast potential but in the end fell way short of the mark. Perhaps the author will read some of these reviews and take them to heart. Or perhaps not.

eBooks related to Final Theory: A Novel